I Am A Warrior
by A-Aron24
Summary: Trial and error. That's the warrior's way. As Dru Kim would learn, she'd face many trials and errors before realizing who she truly was - who'd she truly become. She's young, naive, intelligent, cunning, vulnerable, sensitive, tough, brave, caring... Dick Grayson was her salvation, the brother she never got to have. He gave her courage and strength. Dru Kim is a Knight. A Warrior.
1. Out of the Blue

**Out of the Blue**

* * *

 **Quick A/N:** The character of Dru Kim, in my own envisioning, is depicted by actress Satomi Ishihara. Please proceed.

* * *

The professor continued to ramble on about the history of Western Civilization as though the rest of the class even cared at this point. Dick as usual was always ahead of everyone else when it came to common or uncommon knowledge of world history. He may not have known everything, but his ego convinced him that he knew enough. Rather than taking notes, he was actually doodling.

"Mr. Grayson," the professor called him out. "Can you tell us why beer back in the Renaissance era and beer today are two completely different beverages?"

"Because during the Renaissance beer was safer to drink due to the fermentation process that killed bacteria, preventing diseases the drink might cause," Dick answered.

"Well said," the professor responded. "Someone's been studying extra hard."

Even at times when Dick seemed to impress the professor and a few other classmates at the top of their game, pretty much no one cared how smart the other was. No one was there to bloat. And Dick sort of liked it that way.

After another hour, class was up. Conveniently, Bruce just called him, as though he knew Dick was about to leave at that moment.

"What's up?" he answered.

"I've found the next date," Bruce sternly replied. "He kept it hidden really well, but it was only a matter of time before deciphering the messages he left in the papers. The next attack is on November 17."

"What's significant about that day?"

"Don't know yet. But that's our priority date."

"The 17th it is. I'll see you soon."

They hung up. With his backpack slung over his shoulders containing all his books and every other thing that would make it that much heavier, Dick walked down the streets on to the subway. He had a quicker method of transportation in mind, but it was too obvious to do that for the time of day. As he walked, Dick noticed a girl walking by herself on the sidewalk parallel to his. And he noticed she was being followed by two other men. It was clear that they were trouble. The girl was young, probably still in high school. She held her binder to her chest and had a small backpack strapped around her shoulders. To Dick, it seemed as though she knew she was followed, like she had a feeling. Dick Grayson was many things, but bystander certainly wasn't one of them.

As the men started closing in on the girl even more, Dick subtly crossed over the other side of the street, silently creeping up behind the two men. He was still about fifteen feet away. At that point, the girl knew she was in trouble. She turned around and saw both of the muggers ready to attack. One quickly rushed behind and grabbed both of her arms, restraining her from fighting back with her hands as her binder fell to the ground, knocking out a few papers. Now she was shouting. The other man pulled out a pocket knife and held it up to her face.

"How much you got on ya, sweetheart?" the man asked.

The girl was too busy struggling to answer. Dick was now running towards the action. The guy holding the girl from behind noticed.

"Who the hell is this?" he exclaimed.

Before his partner could even turn in time, Dick swept his lung under the mugger's, tripping him onto the concrete while his knife fell out of his hand. Finishing the guy off, the mugger was met with Dick's foot to his face, knocking him out cold. Now he had to deal the other guy, but to his surprise, Dick saw that he was nearly dealt with already by the girl herself. He saw as the girl managed to lean her head back far enough to bite the man's ear as hard as she could, causing him to scream and without question let her go. She proceeded by elbowing him in the nose and delivering a powerful kick to the gut. Even though she couldn't manage to knock him down, he was in a hell a lot of pain. Dick approached the man, with a cold glare in his eyes, and roughly pushed him into the alley beside them, knocking him down onto his back.

"That's no way to treat a lady," said Dick.

The girl just looked in shock, even though Dick was just as surprised by her. She was amazed at how Dick showed up at the right place and time, and was extremely thankful at the same time. Maybe she could handle one, but maybe not both of them at once had it not been for him to help. Dick turned back around to face the girl.

"Are you okay?" he asked, wondering if he even needed to ask anymore at this point.

"Yeah," she replied. "Thanks."

Dick helped get her stuff together, picking up the papers that fell and lending her the binder.

"Thank you," she said again.

"I… guess so. You handled that guy pretty well," Dick commented.

"No, you handled _that_ guy pretty well."

"I mean, it's not everyday you see…"

"A girl who can fight?"

Dick didn't have the words to reply. He knew that wasn't really the case because he knew Barbara. But Barbara wasn't an ordinary passerby. Then again, Dick only just met this girl.

"Wouldn't exactly put it that way," Dick tried to explain.

"No worries," she replied, smiling. Noticing his backpack, she asked, "I haven't seen you around. Are you a student?"

"Yeah, I go to GSU."

"Oh, you're in college," the girl said, sounding surprised. "I thought you were in high school as well."

"Nah, I'm not that young."

And just like that the two of them started a conversation out of the worst of situations. Just from the few words she spoke, Dick was impressed by the way she presented herself as though she were a woman instead of a teenager. She had an indescribable maturity that kept his attention.

"Well, I'm Dru," she said.

"Dick Grayson," he replied.

"So, um, Dick, can we get away from here?"

"Yeah," he agreed.

The two left the area and kept on walking. Dru didn't need to take the subway home, but Dick walked with her anyway just to make sure she was safe. He had time. And between that time the two conversed along the way, getting to know each other.

"A 17-year-old girl walking by herself in the middle of Gotham," Dick said, amused by the situation.

"That was the first time something like that happened," Dru said in her defense. "I got lucky."

"Well, you did manage that one guy, I'll give you that. You nearly took his ear off."

"I guess I fight dirty? I mean, if someone's trying to mug me or even kill me, I go all out, right?"

Dick nodded. "True. And then you elbowed him in the face. And then kicked him in the stomach."

"… I was a black belt," she admitted.

"Was or am?"

"Technically 'am'. It doesn't matter, that other guy had a knife. I don't think I would've been able to handle both of them if you hadn't showed up."

"Give yourself some credit. For someone as young as you, I applaud what you did back there, really."

Dru was flattered, but modest than ever.

"So who do you stay with?" Dick asked.

"'Friends'," she answered with much sarcasm. Dick didn't quite understand. He waited for her to explain. "They were my brother's friends."

"Were?"

"My brother was killed last year. He was in a gang, and… he ran into some trouble."

"I'm sorry."

"And since you're probably wondering, our parents are back in Japan. Osaka, to be exact. My brother and I moved here when we were old enough to make a living. My brother was the older one who had a job and could pay the rent. But I knew it wasn't just his 'job' that was paying the bills. He was in deeper than that."

From Dick's perspective, he could sympathize with Dru.

"You keep in touch with them?" he asked.

"Every so often. I call them when I can, which isn't as often as I'd like. I don't have a cellphone, and calling overseas is more expensive here."

"Yeah…"

"Not to discredit them, but I feel as though I do fine without them. I'm still breathing."

Dick admired her tongue-in-cheek attitude in the midst of telling bad news. He could tell she was strong.

"You're pretty sharp for a 17-year-old. I imagine your friends ask you for help for everything?" Dick humored.

She grinned, almost laughed. "That's actually true."

"You just seem like the type," said Dick.

"I just know things, if that makes sense?"

"It makes perfect sense. Sometimes I wonder if I know too much."

Now it was time for her to turn the conversation to him.

"So how long have you lived in Gotham?" she asked.

"All my life basically," he answered truthfully. Had it really been that long, he wondered. "Can't seem to get away from this dump."

"From what I've seen it's not all that bad. At least from what I've seen on TV; all the dazzling city lights and such."

"It may look glamorous, but it isn't really as special as you'd think. Believe me."

"I've only been downtown once, and I thought it was pretty nice. We didn't really go to any fancy places, but it was neat for what it was."

"I've been plenty of times. Sure, it's nice if you're looking to have a good time, but otherwise, it's just like any other place in Gotham."

"Well, I'll take your word for it, Mr. Gotham Extraordinaire."

Dick laughed. "I'm oh so flattered."

Eventually they'd made it to Dru's apartment building. She and her brother's friends lived on the third floor. Once they were at the stairs, Dick let her be.

"Well, Dick, once gain, thank you, and it was really nice to meet," Dru said.

"All the same, Dru," Dick replied. "Take care of yourself."

"I will."

Just as she was halfway up the steps to her place, a thought that had occurred to Dick earlier suddenly reemerged.

"Hey," he called to her, to which she turned back around, "if you need to get in touch with your parents or anything, just let me know and I can take care of that for you."

Again, Dru was flattered. "How would I get in contact with you? I don't have a phone, remember?"

"Uh… "

Dick pulled off his backpack and took a small sticky note from one of its pockets. He took a pen and wrote down his number and address. Another good reason to be out of the manor was that he didn't have to get attention from people asking if he really lived with the famous Bruce Wayne when he wrote his address. He handed her the paper.

"Take this. If you need help contacting anyone, or just for anything, let me know."

Dick meant every word, and Dru knew this. She felt as though she could trust him just from the 40 minutes they'd met. She took the paper.

"And what if you're busy?" she asked, being very meticulous.

"I'm a college student, not a businessman," he said. She smiled.

Whenever Dick helped someone especially after realizing it once that person smiled with gratitude, he took satisfaction from it. But even as Dru smiled, something about it told him a different story. Underneath he felt as though she wasn't telling him everything there was to know about her, which was normal and expected, but a whole lot more than he had any business knowing. Though, once gain, they'd just met.


	2. Destiny

**Destiny**

Bruce ran the simulation, whether Dru was ready or not. He hadn't seen her in combat before, so that would be something knew. Dick knew how Bruce was. He knew how critical he could be on the littlest of things. No matter how admirable something could be, leave it to Bruce to shut it down.

Standing in the center of the training arena, geared up in her black armor, her hair tied in her signature ponytail, and gadgets ready, Dru took in a deep breath before her virtual enemies were summoned. First there were three regular thugs before her. Typical. Each of them closed in on her at the same time. Doing things the easy way, Dru dropped her knockout gas pellets onto the ground, and backflipped away from the impact area. The pellets went off, putting all three of them to sleep. Her timing was impressive, at least to Dick it was. Thinking quick on her feet was something he stressed more than anything. She was improving. But Bruce kept a straight face.

More enemies were summoned. One came rushing at Dru swinging his fist, but she dodged by leaning backwards while grabbing his arm, giving her momentum to raise her leg and kick him from the back of his head. The pain was enough to keep him down and surrender. She dealt with another thug by leaping towards him high enough to lock her legs around his head, giving her control of his direction as she maneuvered herself around him and flipped him. Whilst she flipped him, her body continued to spin in the air as another thug attempted to attack, sending her foot into his face as she landed. Dick took note of her acrobatic abilities also. She was definitely improving. Gymnastics was something she was scared of trying at first, but he taught her the ways and she learned pretty quick.

Dru wasn't done yet. She used one of her batarangs and threw it at one thug, which ricocheted off of him and hit another. A huge towering henchman tried to take her from the back, but Dru countered him by effectively spinning her legs under his and tripping him onto the ground. The guy wasn't over with though, not for someone his size. In the meantime, Dru dealt with a few others in her way by delivering precise clean blows to various pressure points in their bodies, giving her an advantage in the arena. All it would take was for her to deliver just one hit to the right section of the body and her enemies would be left defenseless and unable to fight back. While Bruce watched all of this take place, appearing still just as unamused, he did have to admire her speed and agility, however. She was fast. Faster than him probably. Probably even faster than Dick and Barbara. Well, maybe not. Bruce knew that she wasn't at Tim's level yet, so there was no way she could be better than Dick or himself. Definitely not himself. But she was fast.

Once the bulky assailant got back up from the ground, ready to break every bone in her body, Dru was more than ready. He didn't scare her. She kept her composure as he slowly made his way to her, to which she simply did the same. When he'd gotten certain distance towards her, the thug suddenly charged full on at her. Reacting as quickly as she could, Dru remembered what Dick taught her about doing flips to evade enemy attacks. She also remembered she wasn't that great at it. But it was now or never to show Bruce what she was made of. She literally took a leap of faith and whilst flipping completely over the towering man in the air, she managed to land a hit on his neck, striking dead on a pressure point. In the blink of an eye, the man fell on his face, unconscious, while Dru landed perfectly in a crouched position, taking on her mentor's acrobatic style as well. She was definitely improving. She was improving faster than Dick had imagined she could. He couldn't help but admire what she'd become. Sure, when she was training he had to be hard on her so that she could learn effectively, but right now he couldn't help but smile. He was proud of her. He'd never been that proud of anything in his life, honest to God.

For Bruce, he'd seen all he needed to. The simulation was over. Bruce and Dick had come out from where they were watching above and walked over to the arena to meet with Dru. Even though she thought she'd given her all, she was still very nervous. She thought trying to be valedictorian in her class was more possible than impressing Bruce. He expected a lot from his protégés, but she felt as though he was much harder on her for whatever reason.

Bruce said the first words. "Not bad," he simply stated, which could mean anything.

"Not bad?" Dick intervened. "That was incredible!" Dru tried to fight the smile that tried to creep its way over her face. After all the hard training, she couldn't believe he was actually proud of her.

"Effective at the most," Bruce remarked. Now Dru's imaginary smile was gone. "Your form is a little too loose. Normally I'd stress that sort of think with Tim and Barbara, but you take it to a different level of 'airy'. If someone lands a hit on you I'd think you shatter into a million pieces."

"But no one did land a hit on her," Dick defended.

"Exactly," Bruce shot back. "And we'll never know what will happen when someone does. You need to be able to take a hit at some point, Dru. And you need to be able to recover quick."

Dru passively nodded. He was sort of right. She'd had the luck of never taking a blow to the face. The worst that's really happened to her was being restrained or held down. Probably because no one wanted to ruin her pretty face or because she was a girl. She knew she'd meet the one some day, the one who would cross the line and not care, but until that day, Dru went on believing that no one would ever try and swing a punch at her, even though she could do much worse now.

"But shouldn't you admire the fact that she could manage not to get hit at all?" Dick argued.

Bruce had to admit, he made a good point. "Yes. I do admire her evasive skills. You have amazing speed, Dru. Just don't count on that to save you every time," Bruce warned her.

Over the months spent living with him, Dru came to the belief that Bruce was a full on pessimist. It didn't make a difference that he chose the good side or even stands alongside the Justice League, the man didn't believe in absolutes. There was a reason and question behind everything for him, and then another question behind the question. While this was of slight annoyance to her, Dru could see why Batman was always on the top of his game. Whenever trouble arose, he was ready for anything.

"We're done," Bruce said, walking away.

"And?" Dick called after him.

Bruce stopped and turned his head. "I'll think about it."

Dick hated that answer. Usually when he used to tell him that it meant that he would accept his request, but just the anticipation of waiting was overbearingly frustrating at times. Seeing that Dru was worried on the inside, Dick went over to congratulate her.

"You did great," he sincerely spoke. "I can't believe you pulled off that somersault as well as you did. Have you been practicing?"

"Well, I didn't learn it overnight, I can tell you that much," Dru remarked. "Barbara did kind of help me a bit after she saw how bad I was."

"Well whatever the case, you showed me you've learned a whole lot. You were great."

"According to Bruce, I was only 'effective'."

"Hey," Dick protested, putting his hand on her shoulder, "screw Bruce's opinion. You know him. He knows you were great, too. Believe it. You're ready."

Dru looked him in his eyes. Now she was smiling and couldn't hide it this time.

* * *

"Why can't you just accept it, Bruce?" Dick exclaimed, furiously. "She's one of the fastest learners we've had since… ever."

"Not faster than you," Bruce objected, staring out the window of the manor, his back turned to Dick.

"Are you so sure about that? She's already proved she can handle multiple things at once."

"You excelled quicker because of your early exposure to actual missions."

"Yeah, and she'll never get that level of experience unless you let her. You're worrying way too much."

Bruce gave him one of the coldest glares in his life. "You know there's no such thing as worrying too much," he coldly stated.

At that point, Dick regretted what he'd said. He knew how Bruce felt about Jason… he knew how both of them felt about Jason.

"Bruce… I am telling you, there's not many people I put this much faith in, please understand that," Dick pleaded. "From the moment I met her I knew there was something special about her. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's the damn truth. Everything I've taught her she's learned in a matter of days. Tim couldn't manage to do a perfect somersault without falling flat on his ass until after a few months!"

"This isn't a matter of faith, Dick. It's a matter of actual consequences at stake here. Suppose I let her out there and perhaps her overconfidence gets the best of her, then what?"

"She's not overconfident! She's more insecure and modest than anything! But that's the quality about her that makes her who she is, and can be her advantage against her enemies."

Bruce cocked a brow. Dick explained.

"The day I first met her, when she was about to be mugged by those two guys, and I jumped in to help her, she had taken care of the other guy who had her held from behind without me even realizing it. That's the thing, Bruce, people think she's incapable. And she utilizes it well with not just her combat, but intelligence, too. Her IQ could be bigger than all of ours combined for all I know! She's a force of nature that you couldn't tell just by staring in her face."

He didn't know when to quit. Jason may have been the worst at it, but Dick sure as hell knew how to argue with Bruce. He was persistent. That's what Bruce sort of admired about him. But at times, when it wasn't in his favor, it would irritate him, like now. Yes, he truly believed that Dru was ready, but was she ready enough? Then a realization hit Bruce. Once all this thinking started to hurt his brain, he knew he was doing something wrong. He knew what he was about to say would be the solution.

"I have an idea," he said. Dick was all ears. "Instead of me taking her in under the mantle as Robin, why don't I leave this one to you?"

Dick wasn't sure if this was real life at the moment. "What?" he said, puzzled as hell.

"You're right, she is a fast learner. And she's proved more than capable of being the next Robin or Batgirl. But maybe her destiny isn't for me to decide. If you have this much passion and faith for one person, then I trust you, Dick. She's yours."

The former boy wonder stood there for who-knows-how long before finally saying something, which wasn't much.

"… I don't know what to say," Dick spoke.

"There's nothing you need to say," said Bruce. "Teach her. Teach her everything you know. Teach her how to be a warrior of the night. Teach her how to be the Nightwing."


	3. Who We Were

**Who We Were**

* * *

 **WARNING: This chapter contains material that may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.**

* * *

"I keep telling you, I'm not old enough yet," Dru argued in her first language. "That's the same thing everyone I've talked to has said as well."

"It's Gotham City, you can find work anywhere. Look at me, I'm working and we're doing just fine alone. And that's just one person here having a job, imagine what we could be making once you earn your pay."

"We're not doing 'just fine'. This place is just as run down as our old one back in Osaka. This is not what mom and dad sent us here for."

Dru was serious, but her brother, nonchalant as always, thought she was always overreacting.

"Hey, for a brother and sister who came over to America to take Gotham by storm, I'd say we're doing fine," her brother replied. But Dru rolled her eyes. "You should get a job. Seriously. It would help us even more. We don't have to keep worrying about if we have enough rent money by the end of the month."

"This is not what mom and dad wanted," Dru simply sighed.

"We're living on our own now! We make our own rules!" her brother protested.

"I have school! That's my priority right now, that's what they said was important right now! I'm not worrying about living in a fancy place just yet. Stop getting ahead of yourself, Riichi!"

"God, you're the spitting image of mom right now!"

Then Riichi's buddies came through the door, disrupting their argument. All three of them came walking into the living room where they were. Dru couldn't stand either one of them. Each of them were throwing their lives away, getting in trouble with the law. One of them, Mark, was what Dru imagined to the stereotypical American. He seemed to do all the wrongs things an American stood for. She wasn't racist. She just despised his character. And he was poisoning her brother's mind even worse. Riichi was always in trouble even back in Osaka, but being here in Gotham seemed to make it worse at times.

"You ready, bro?" Mark asked.

"You never lock the door," Dru mumbled to Riichi. He ignored her.

"Yeah," Riichi replied, getting up and ready to leave with them.

"Where are you going?" his sister asked.

"I'll be back later, don't worry about it."

She hated it when he never told her anything. She never understood why he had to be so difficult. What he probably meant to say was, 'We're going out to settle a few things with this punk, teach him a lesson. I'll be back later.'

* * *

 _A Year Later_

Dru was about to flip. How could three people stay up for so long and not get tired? She knew getting that TV was a bad idea. It was Riichi's idea, not hers. But she complied because he was older, and it was his birthday. Plus it was his money. But even though it was his money, basically _his_ money was _their_ money. They both needed it. Not these assholes sitting in the living room doing absolutely nothing productive. Dru had enough. She was trying to study for her test tomorrow, but Riichi's buddies wouldn't shut up. The young girl stormed into the living room, shouting as intimidatingly in English as possible. Shouting in Japanese would be much easier, but these idiots wouldn't know.

"I am trying to study!" she announced. "I have a test tomorrow - why are you guys even here?!"

"There's nowhere else to go," one of them said.

"Don't all of you have your own places?"

"I stay at my mom's," another one answered. "No way in Hell Imma try and go back over there."

"Well you need to get out of here, this isn't your place!" Dru ordered as she pointed to the door.

Then Mark got up and intervened. "Hey, c'mon, Dru, don't be like that," he said, as though the two of them were cool with each other. "You know you need me here." He got closer to her, tuning out the others. "You know you're gonna need help keeping this place, right? Somebody's gotta pay the rent, huh? We both know you can't do that by yourself."

She didn't like the way he was talking to her - like she was a slave to him or something. It wasn't in his place to have any sort of control over her, especially not in her own place. Yet she was silent.

"You said you need help studying?" Mark continued. "I can help with that…"

Then he got too close. Horrified, Dru pushed him away from her with disgust drawn all over her face. Mark sighed as though it was a game.

"C'mon, don't be like that," he said.

Dru went back to her room feeling defeated and shut the door. She sat on her bed and buried her face into her hands. Why were they doing this? Why were Riichi's lowlifes interfering with her personal life now? They would swing by nearly every day just to chill at her place when she knew they had other places they could be. They felt like just because it used to be Riichi's they had to stay there all the time. Did they think it was out of respect to occupy the residence of their deceased buddy? Dru thought it was disrespectful. It was wrong because they seemed to have forgotten about her. She was still alive. But she was dead to them. They came in here like they owned the place. They'd eat up almost all the food Dru needed to last for a week, they'd use up the electricity and water bills… she hated ever second of it, knowing that her stuff was being taken from her.

Lifting her head back up, Dru realized she still needed to study for her Literature test tomorrow. She loved the class to no end, but she could do without the tedious nights of study. Just as she was reviewing her stuff, Mark came in.

"Mark, get out!" Dru immediately demanded.

"Hey, relax, I just wanna talk," he said, too calm. He walked over to the foot of her bed and sat.

"I don't wanna talk to you, I want you to get out!"

"Why are you being so difficult with me?"

Now she was getting really frustrated. "I have school and you guys are in there making so much noise!"

"Forget them. They can go."

"You _all_ can leave."

"Dru, you know what Riichi would have wanted- "

"Shut up! Don't talk to me about Riichi! This has nothing to do with him!"

"Yes it does. Why do you think we're here right now?!"

Dru shook her head. She proceeded to look back down at her papers. Mark took them from her.

"C'mon, just take it easy," he said, scooting more to her side.

"Quit it, Mark!" she objected. Then he took the pen out of her hand. "Stop it!"

"Relax," he kept saying. _Relax… Relax… Just relax._

He kept getting closer to her, and closer. Dru was weak compared to him. Mark was bigger than her and could easily overpower her. She couldn't fight back. Before she knew it, Mark had her pinned down on the bed, holding down both of her wrists so that she couldn't fight. She was staring into his eyes. As close as he was to her face, that's all she could do. She couldn't see anything else. Then he continued. Dru just closed her eyes and accepted it to where she didn't even notice the tear roll down her cheek, and neither did Mark.

Dru nearly forgot where she was for a minute. The rest of the world nearly vanished before her. All it felt like was her, this bed, and Mark. She forgot it was her own apartment. She forgot why she was here anymore. She forgot to call her parents earlier that day. She couldn't, though. She almost forgot that Riichi was usually home at this time. She didn't know why he wasn't there pulling Mark off of her right then. Then she remembered Riichi wasn't alive anymore. Riichi was dead. And if he was dead, Dru might as well have been, too.


	4. Trials

**Trials**

Her knees grew weaker with every second of holding her place on the top of the narrow pole. Any minute now Dick would tell her it was okay to come down, but time just kept on rolling in Dru's head. Sweat ran down her forehead, and her legs, perched together to keep her balance as though she were a bird, were about to give in. She remembered that Dick told her to just keep breathing. In the nose, out of the mouth. Doing so in the particular order would make her forget about the discomfort she felt. But eventually it was going to get to her. The batcave environment was at least cool enough to even out the burn she felt whenever her body received these intense exercises.

"Fifteen more seconds," Dick said, looking at his stopwatch.

 _Damn,_ Dru thought in her head. Fifteen was too much. Maybe she could do five more, but fifteen was ridiculous. She was in so much pain and discomfort that she really didn't care anymore. She learned her lesson for the day, wasn't that enough?

Seeing as she was about to give in, Dick called her out.

"Don't let go, Dru, you can hold it a little longer," he said, unsympathetic.

Now she was letting out heavy breaths, straining from the tightness of her muscles in her legs and core. It seemed like time was moving so slowly for her. She lost all focus on breathing and now turned her attention to the pain. Then she remembered what Bruce had said about taking a hit. He couldn't be right about her. She had to prove to him that wasn't the case, if not to him, then to herself. If she gave up then that would only validate his claim about her not being able to withstand pain. All the quotes she heard about pain and motivation started running through her head. _Pain is temporary, pride is forever. Don't watch the clock; do what it does: keep going. It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop._ They were helping to some extent. Then Dick had to open his mouth again.

"Five more seconds," he said.

It almost threw her off, literally. Even if she fell now, she felt as though it would be a victory since she managed to knock out 10 out of the 15 seconds. Dru began wobbling to the sides, losing her balance little by little. She looked at Dick as she tried to maintain it. He just stood looking at his stopwatch. He looked so careless. So cold, and mean.

"Time," he finally said.

Dru didn't even land properly when she got off. It hurt so bad she probably hurt herself even more by falling on her back while trying to jump off the pole. Thankfully it was only three feet off the ground, otherwise it would've hurt much more than that. She picked herself up still in pain from her legs.

"That was fun," she said through her panting as she leaned over with support from her knees.

"It wasn't supposed to be," he coldly replied. "You were clumsy and kept losing your balance."

"You had me up there for a good two minutes, twice what I'm used to."

"And?"

It was started to annoy her whenever he said that. It was his thing.

" _And,_ did you think I'd be well-prepared for something like that?"

"You need to be prepared for anything."

Now those were Bruce's words right there. She wondered if he noticed it, too.

"During a real mission, you can't run out of stamina that easily. You can't stop because your enemies won't," he went on.

It was nothing she never heard before. Dru was just waiting for whatever he was about to throw at her next, and that could be taken literally. Surprise was his specialty. Thinking on her feet was stressed more than anything. And speak of the devil, before he even warned her, a batarang was already hurling halfway towards her. Only then did he finally say, "Think fast."

Dru performed a backflip to avoid the attack. However, it skinned across her torso as she dodged. Landing back on her feet, she hissed in pain as she touched her stomach.

"Damn those things hurt," she commented. She just realized she almost took her first 'hit'. No, not that. That one couldn't count.

"And there's people out there who can cause worse than that," Dick said.

At that moment, still testing her reflexes without her realizing it, he swung at her full on, knowing she wouldn't allow him to get away with it that easily. Taken by surprise and almost missing her cue, Dru ducked and evaded his fist. Her next move was to obviously aim for below since he'd attacked with his upper body. But of course, that's what he expected her to do. Dick easily countered her attack and knocked her back a few feet. She almost fell, but insisted on standing her ground in any fight so she didn't look entirely weak. Dick looked unimpressed. To her it was a sign that she wasn't trying hard enough. But she was, or at least she thought. He was impossible to her. His combat skills were superior in every way. He was the teacher after all.

Dru made the first attack this time. She tried to imagine what he might do first as a reaction so that she could then use it against him. Thinking five steps ahead was a tip Bruce gave her a while back, but even then, it was useless. Dru was met with the same result of having her move countered by her mentor yet again. This time she was knocked down, but broke her fall with her hands. She turned to look at him while still on the floor. He had that same look, one of unamusement and disappointment almost. She wasn't quite getting the point. She understood it was a combat training, but why was he doing it the way he was?

Once gain, getting off her ass, Dru then aimed for the pressure points in his body. It was a style of self-defense combat she came up with herself. Well, she didn't come up with it, but she took it upon herself to learn it and use it as an advantage. Dick never taught her about pressure points very much, so she hoped to surprise him somewhat. Going from closed fists to open hand, Dru used the tips of her fingers to try and strike a few of his own pressure points. At first, Dick blocked every attack she used. Then she got smart and snuck one in near his waist. Dick actually felt it, too. For a second he lost his composure. Now she had an advantage… or so she thought. Dick recovered faster than Dru thought he would, and once she took too long to make another move, he forcefully took hold of her arm, turned her and had her pinned. She couldn't see him since her back was turned to him, but he had her arm stuck, and she was down on her knees in pain.

"Not fast enough," was his only comment.

Dru was mad now. She thought he was taunting her, even though he really wasn't. She felt insulted, ridiculed. Once he let her go, she got back up ready to knock him down. She swung ferociously, not caring how much it might actually hurt him if she landed a single hit. Of course he blocked every single one. But Dru didn't give up. She tried everything. She swung, kicked, everything she could've thought of. She even tried aiming for another one of his pressure points, though to no avail. He put her in another lock and she couldn't do anything.

"Focus," he simply said.

But she was focused. He was her only target at that moment. She swore that she was giving her all. Though, she was failing. Having had enough, Dru gave it her all and cried out in anger. While this was expected to give her opponent an even bigger advantage, she actually landed a few hits on him before he finally overpowered her. This time, since she was trying harder, Dick had to pin her down on the floor. He held her hands down while she violently struggled. Suddenly he was taken by surprise by Dru's face. What was at first red with anger was now pink with what looked like despair. She kept trying to release herself from his hold, but he was far stronger than her. Now she was screaming and hollering violently, turning her head side to side like a lunatic, but she refused to look him in the face. She seemed afraid to. She felt defeated. Then he noticed tears starting to form in her eyes.

It was at that point Dick let her go. He stood up and gave her space. Dru stayed on the ground for a minute before wiping the tears in her eyes and getting up.

"I'm done," she said lastly.

Even as she left, she didn't look him in the eye. Dick stood there by himself, thinking on what he just did. Only then did he finally feel like shit. This wasn't the way he wanted it to turn out. Training Dru was supposed to be something to look forward to, to be excited about, even for her. Instead it was a tedious routine that felt endless. Why did he keep pushing her even after she'd shown good results? Maybe he should have ended the session after she finished working on her balance. She was remarkably adaptable. She learned quick. But he wasn't appreciating it after all. The last thing he wanted was to become more like Bruce and his ways. It's exactly what he was following after. Bruce's teachings. He refused… but that's what he became. He'd taken it too far.


	5. Family Business

**Family Business**

"When you meet them, don't worry about being all formal and any of that fancy stuff you might think you need to show off," Dick added.

Him and Dru were pulling up to Wayne Manor. Whenever he was going over to the manor was one of the only times he ever drove his car. He never used it to take himself back home from school because he didn't trust having his car parked anywhere else besides his place. Even still, he could only do so much to protect it.

As they pulled up, Dru was fascinated by the architecture and design of the manor itself. It was enormous in size, far bigger than she imagined.

"From the look of it, I might just accidentally slip into a high-class British accent," Dru joked. Dick smiled, as he knew that wasn't so far from the truth since he knew Alfred.

"There's already someone for that," Dick muttered.

They parked behind Bruce's Lamborghini, one that he used far more often than Dick used his own car. That's the thing about Bruce, he never wasted money on anything he wouldn't use.

Dru grabbed her backpack and followed Dick over to the door. She'd never actually set foot on such wealthy property. Sure, she'd been to luxurious places before, but nothing like this where there was a gate to get past with special permission. The only top notch places she'd been to were a few famous landmarks. Even when they passed the gate to the manor she was amused by how everything functioned so accordingly. Whoever this man was that Dick claimed to be his old mentor, he seemed very cautious. This didn't surprise her; who wouldn't be if they lived in such a nice property?

The doors towered over Dru. She herself was shorter than Dick, but even still the doors seemed excessively tall. She didn't know if this place was a mansion or a castle. According to Dick, the proper word for it was 'manor'. Little did she know who the owner was. Dick rang the doorbell. In just a short amount of time, the two of them were met with his old butler Alfred Pennyworth.

"Good evening, Master Dick," Alfred greeted.

"How are you, Alfred?" Dick replied.

"Rather well if I do say so myself. This must be the young lady Master Bruce spoke of you bringing along."

Dru gave her best smile to be polite as possible. Already she was trying too hard even though Dick said it wouldn't matter. This might have been normal for him at one point, but for her she thought it was a privilege.

"How are you, madam?" said Alfred.

"So far so good," she said, facing Dick. He could tell she was already astonished by all of this, and they hadn't even stepped foot in the place yet. "I'm Dru."

"Nice to meet you. You may refer to me simply as Alfred or Mister Pennyworth, whichever suits your interest."

Now Dru didn't have to try so hard anymore. She felt more comfortable than ever just after exchanging a few words with the butler.

"Master Bruce awaits you in the study," Alfred noted. "He seems rather curious to meet Ms. Dru."

They stepped inside and made their way through the halls over to the study. Alfred knew that Dick very much knew his way around, so no bother in having to lead them. The place continued to amaze Dru by every step they took. It was like the giant mansions she would see in the movies that she would imagine be full of secrets and hidden doors. She remembered watching a movie that involved a bunch of guests who were invited over for dinner at a residence similar to this, but as the night progressed, some of the guests were being murdered one by one and the others had to work together to find out who the killer was. Yes, Dru's imagination ran wild more and more each second of observing the interior of the manor. According to her, it was simply 'classic'.

"What do you think?" Dick asked.

"It's like something out of a Sherlock Holmes novel," Dru answered.

"Oh yeah? What kind of mystery do you think he'd be solving in a place like this?"

"Oh, I don't know, I never actually read them before."

Sitting in his quiet study room, staring at the fireplace as though it were his own form of meditation, Bruce Wayne awaited the two. The door was left ajar as usual, so they walked right on in. Dru admired the hundreds of books stacked along the shelves on the walls. A large painting of a man and woman, most likely a married couple who probably owned the place prior, hung above the fireplace. The woman had a distinct pearl necklace. Everything about the study seemed to evoke nothing but absolute relaxation and comfort to indulge; perfect place for Dru to do her homework. Then she noticed Bruce sitting there. He was turned to where she couldn't see his face, but she knew it was him. She knew it was the man Dick said they'd meet. And she knew he owned the place. All of this.

"Nice timing," Bruce spoke, still turned away from them. "Usually you're too early."

"You know I like to punctual," Dick remarked.

Bruce stood from his fine leather chair and approached the two. It was at that point he finally got to see Dru for the first time. He could only speculate what she might look like; all he knew was her age and that she was in high school still. From what he saw, she gave off a pretty good first impression for not even having spoken a word yet. Over the years, Bruce learned that certain people give off a type of energy that could be picked up instantly the moment you meet them. This was the case with Dru.

Even though Dru didn't keep up with celebrity figures as much as the rest, everyone in Gotham knew who Bruce Wayne was. He was just as important as the mayor, always in the news. She respected him for all his philanthropic activities and the numerous amounts of money he donated to charities. And there he was in the flesh, facing her. Dru never actually met any real celebrities, so right now she could say that she was pretty star-struck. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. The way he carried himself was like that of a man at the peak of his existence. He had a certain style to him when he walked, a cool sort of walk that got people's attention, and he was very well groomed, looking fresh and new as though it were just in his nature to come off as such. Right now he wore a dark blue vest over a white collar shirt, along with a nice pair of matching slacks and dress shoes. Dick wasn't lying when he told her that he never made a _dull_ appearance in person.

"Not a bad habit to keep," Bruce commented. "I'm assuming this is the girl you were talking about?"

"In the flesh," Dick answered.

Dru felt obligated to now introduce herself. "H-hello, I'm- "

"Dru Kim," Bruce finished for her. "Don't worry, Dick told me all about you. I didn't even bother looking up your file."

This baffled Dru. He had that kind of access to people?

"And from the looks of it, I'm guessing you know who I am," said Bruce. Dru nervously smiled as if she were going to mess this all up.

"Of course, you're Bruce Wayne!" Dru exclaimed. "I hear about you all the time and see you on the news. I had no idea this was your place - no offense, it's very nice, it's just that… I-I didn't know…"

Dick and Bruce looked at each other, amused by the awestruck episode she was experiencing. This wasn't the first time they'd seen this, and Dru wasn't the only one. Bruce just stood and smiled while Dick lightly shook his head. The billionaire then raised his hand.

"No worries about it, I completely understand," Bruce reassured Dru. "Plus it's not too often I get such overly humble guests. But I assure, you don't have to try so hard."

Then she turned to look at Dick, who gave her a look that said 'I told you so' all over it. She smiled in her own defeat. From now on she'd trust him on the littlest things.

"Okay," she mumbled to both Dick and Bruce.

"Dick told me that you were having trouble getting in touch with your parents, is that right?" Bruce inquired.

"Um, yes," Dru answered. "As he probably already told you, they're overseas in Osaka and me getting to call them is a rarity."

"Hmm, that's no problem at all. Give me any number and I can get in touch with anyone anywhere."

A smile came over Dru's face. Never had she been so thankful.

"Thank you _so_ much," she said.

"It'd be my pleasure. Just give me their number and I'll be sure to get them on the line for you."

Now Dru understood why he was always in the news. It was because of little things like this (and big things too, of course) where he cared the most about helping others in need, rich or poor.

At that point, a woman came into the study holding a tablet. She had curly red hair and was dressed in casual clothes like Dick and her. She too looked pretty young, maybe about her age or a little older?

"Bruce, I got those f- "

The young woman was taken off guard by Dru's presence.

"Oh," she said, excusing herself. "I didn't know you had company."

"It's fine," Bruce said. "Barbara, I'd like for you to meet Dru, a friend of Dick's."

"Hi, good to meet you," Barbara greeted, extending her hand for Dru to shake. Dru returned the offer.

"All the same," Dru responded. "I wasn't sure if there was going to be another girl in here besides myself."

Barbara laughed. "Trust me, I feel the same way sometimes." She specifically looked at Dick and Bruce while she said it. The two men exchanged looks of confusion. Barbara then turned her attention back to Bruce. "Um, is now a good time to discuss… _business_?"

Dru was lost. On the other hand, she figured Bruce Wayne would be a busy man. She understood. But Bruce seemed only slightly frustrated. Finally, he spoke after thinking about it.

"Let's make it very brief," he insisted. He then looked at Dru. "I apologize, Dru. Could you give the three of us a few minutes and I promise I'll be with you shortly?"

When he said that, Dru felt as though she was one of his clients or something, which she thought was kind of awesome. Once again, she understood.

"Absolutely," she replied. "I can wait."

Just as she said that, Bruce noticed Alfred walking past.

"Alfred," he called after his long-time butler. The old man with excellent posture as usual came to his master's attention.

"Sir?" Alfred said.

"Could you kindly tend to our guest and make sure she's comfortable while she waits?"

"Certainly, Master Bruce." The butler turned his full attention to Dru. "Right this way, madam. I'll show you to the living area."

Dru followed. Alfred also knew to shut the door behind them as they left. When they were in the living, Alfred insisted she take a seat on the couch, which was quite comfy.

"Is there anything I could get you, a water perhaps?" Alfred offered.

At first she was going to say no out of her overbearing habit of modesty, but Dru was so flattered by Wayne's overall impression he presented this evening, including the favor he was willing to do for her, that she accepted Alfred's offer. Plus it was his job, and Dru never had a butler to get her things before.

"A water would be nice," Dru politely answered.

And off Alfred went to fetch her a glass. Dru looked around one more time just to take everything in. This had to be the nicest place she's ever seen. Once the butler came back with her water rather fast, Dru gladly said thank you and sipped.

"Anything else I might do for you, Ms. Dru?" said the butler.

"That'll be all for now," Dru replied. Wow, she felt so classy saying that. "I can't believe Dick used to live here."

"Oh yes, Master Dick was quite young when he first moved in. It took some adjusting getting used to serving random meals at 11:30 in the night to just one person."

Dru found this funny. "Do you miss having him around?"

"Once you serve someone for so long, you do begin to feel as though they are your own children, as ironic as that sounds. The last one to finally grow up and leave the nest would be Master Tim. I don't believe you two have met."

"No, we haven't. Is he Dick's brother or something?"

Alfred smiled at this. "You could say. He's about your age as well. I have to say, Master Dick was less trouble to deal with; he made less ridiculous requests."

"Worse than serving meals at 11:30 at night?"

"Try 12:30."

"Wow."

"Nevertheless, I admire Master Tim's character. He has a good heart, even if he does slip every now and then."

* * *

Once Alfred and Dru had left them to the study room, the three began discussing business.

"What have you got, Barbara?" Bruce asked.

"Well, I found something significant about the November 17 date you were talking about," the redhead answered as she turned on the screen of her tablet. She held it to where Bruce and Dick could see. "Turns out that's the same date as singer Donica Douglass' birthday."

" _The_ Donica Douglass?" said Dick.

"Yes, Gotham and almost world-famous Donica Douglass, who also has ties to Falcone."

"But she isn't an officer of the law," Dick opposed. "That's an odd one."

"However, it probably can't mean _nothing_ if she has ties with Carmine Falcone," Bruce stated. "What else did you find on that day?"

"It's also when Douglass's next live performance is downtown at the Burkley Opera House," Barbara added.

"A hit perhaps?"

"Well, _Am I Blue?_ was a pretty big hit on the radio."

"No, an assassination attempt?"

"Oh, right. I suppose it's possible, but it doesn't make sense. Why her? All of the killings have been targeted mostly at GCPD cops." Saying that gave herself chills just thinking about her dad.

"Maybe she knows something," Dick suggested.

"Maybe. If the Falcone family is being brought into this now then she's probably involved in a bigger conspiracy neither the cops or us know about," Bruce proposed. "Falcone has connections to nearly anyone, celebrities included. It wouldn't surprise me if she knew something we didn't."

"Well whatever the case, if her life is in danger we need to act soon," said Dick.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," said Bruce. "We'll discuss this later. For now, let's wait until we have more evidence."

"Plus I know you're just a fan of her music," Barbara teased Dick.

"… So. She has a 'beautiful' voice," he remarked.

"Mmm-hmm."


End file.
